Su Cheng hesitated to speak, stopped, and then wanted to speak again.
Seeing his niece's expression, Lin Zhen couldn't help but look again at the two outstanding men with completely different temperaments.
Those two were also looking over here.
And judging from their expressions, they most likely heard what was just said.
Lin Zhen: "..."
Knowing that those two were definitely experts, he had deliberately used his battle aura to compress his voice, but he didn't expect it to still turn out like this.
He couldn't help but feel secretly alarmed. He quickly had someone lead the way, winking at his niece to express his apology while repeatedly saying polite words.
"I didn't know you were coming, so I didn't prepare anything special, but since we are all family—"
Lin Zhen sized up the two men and shot Su Cheng a somewhat questioning look.
Su Cheng had a bit of a headache. "Uncle..."
She roughly understood what he meant and could only shake her head.
Lin Zhen immediately swallowed back some of the words he wanted to say. One moment he was praising their appearances, and the next he was sighing with emotion that they had such strength at such a young age.
Su Cheng: "..."
Young was quite the understatement.
Ian put on a gentle and polite appearance, occasionally returning a compliment or two.
Lusha seemed to feel it wasn't his place to speak, so he just smiled, occasionally lowering his head slightly as if feeling shy from certain praises.
Then he cast a glance filled with hidden amusement.
Su Cheng rolled her eyes at him, knowing this guy was also enjoying the show.
Lin Zhen spoke modestly, but when they entered the brightly lit banquet hall, she found that this lunch was actually quite lavish and presentable.
The golden candlesticks and silver tableware on the oak table reflected each other's light, and the servants filed in, presenting various dishes.
The roast lamb brushed with honey and rosemary looked golden and crispy, its fat sizzling.
The roast chicken stuffed with breadcrumbs, chopped onions, sage, and various nuts was decorated with bright feathers and posed as if craning its neck to sing.
Beside it was a sour and savory sauce made of mint, berries, and wine vinegar.
In the slow-cooked beef rib vegetable soup, one could spot several valuable magical plants at a glance. The broth was rich and mellow, emitting a mouth-watering aroma.
The servants in the banquet hall gradually left.
"...It's all thanks to you," Lin Zhen said bluntly. "Several of our family's businesses have improved a lot."
In such a bustling metropolis, there were many well-informed people, and word spread especially fast in the upper circles.
The Lin family was originally not considered powerful or influential, but it just so happened that one of their children was admitted to the Cross Star Academy. Furthermore, some even knew that she had been invited to meet with the Archbishop.
Connecting this with the annulled engagement, the rumors of the God-favored one, and the inexplicably missing Elder Li, everything seemed to make sense.
Lin Zhen raised his cup. "Your uncle doesn't have much ability and can't help you..."
A servant brought a tray holding a clean and shiny magic crystal card.
"This is a small token of my appreciation. After all, if you weren't so successful, I wouldn't be able to benefit from your glory..."
Su Cheng casually put away the card and tasted the herb-baked sea bass and sea salt oysters on the table. The meat was quite tender, and the texture tasted like magical beasts.
Considering that Golden Amber City was not coastal, alchemical devices were obviously used during transportation, meaning the cost was not low.
"...Leaving other things aside," Su Cheng thought for a moment, "I don't want those who bullied me before to be doing well."
Although their main target of bullying had been the former Lin Yun, and she had only been mocked by them a few times.
But she still didn't want these people to profit because of her today.
Lin Zhen put down his wine glass. "They are not doing well. Most of them have moved out of Golden Amber City. There was also one person who encountered a brawl between two groups of mercenaries outside the city and was severely burned."
He spat out a name. "You should still remember him. He once pushed you off the rockery, causing you to break your arm. Your head almost hit a stone back then..."
Su Cheng didn't remember at all. "...Oh, he deserved it."
While they were talking, Lusha had already picked up a silver dining knife and sliced off the most tender and juicy rib section from the roast lamb.
He separated the meat from the bone with elegant and precise movements, then used the tip of his knife and a fork to move the meat onto the wooden cutting board in front of him, carefully cutting it into small pieces.
Only then did he place the pieces one by one onto the gold-rimmed porcelain plate in front of her. His expression was incredibly focused, as if he were arranging a precious work of art.
"Thank you," Su Cheng touched his hand, "but you don't have to do this."
"It is what I should do," he said as a matter of course. "You guys just continue—"
Lin Zhen watched this scene in silence, his gaze involuntarily shifting to the other person.
The blonde youth sat calmly opposite them, spreading jam on his bread. He looked neither angry nor anxious, with not a trace of surprise on his face.
It was as if he was used to it.
Lin Zhen thought in sudden realization. When he turned his head, he saw the black-haired youth take a wine jug from a servant and lean over to pour wine for the young girl beside him.
The vermilion wine poured into the silver cup, and he only stopped when the curved surface touched the pattern at the lower edge of the rim. From beginning to end, not a single drop splashed out, and it didn't even make a sound.
Then he picked out the two largest and plumpest oysters. Just as he picked up his small knife, his movements paused.
Lin Zhen saw his niece freeze for a moment before standing up with a face full of joy.
Unsure of the situation, he also stood up.
The servants at the entrance of the banquet hall gasped in surprise—
Before they could react to what was happening, a tall and heroic figure had appeared in front of them.
A heavy, dark animal skin cape draped behind him, fluttering through the air.
The man with black hair and golden eyes stepped into the hall. His cold, awe-inspiring gaze swept across, slicing through the stagnant air like a blade, and then landed on Su Cheng's face.
That light instantly softened.
"Are you done?" Su Cheng asked happily. "Come eat with us? You'll definitely like this roast lamb."
"Mhm," Kai nodded slightly. "Do you still have classes today?"
Su Cheng shook her head. "Not this afternoon."
He strode over with large steps, leaned down to kiss her forehead, and then reached out his hand to the side.
Lusha silently lowered his head, handed over the silver knife in his hand, took a step back, and gave up his seat.
"...Your Holiness."
He greeted him quite respectfully in ancient Dragon language.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Kai naturally sat down beside her, pried open the rough oyster shell with a knife, picked up a sliced lemon to squeeze the juice over it, and placed it on her plate.
Lin Zhen watched, dumbfounded. He couldn't help but look at his niece, only to see the little girl kiss the man on the cheek.
When Su Cheng turned back and met her nominal uncle's gaze, she couldn't help but nod helplessly.
Lin Zhen immediately understood. He began to greet him with a face full of smiles, pouring out a continuous stream of unique compliments.
Kai was not very used to exchanging pleasantries with people. Hearing this, he merely nodded, his gaze drifting across the table.
The blonde youth was still unhurriedly cutting his meat, having never stood up from the beginning to the end. At this moment, he looked up and met his gaze for a second.
"...Ilthiant."
"...Caecilius."
Su Cheng swore there was no more awkward greeting than this.
But she still had to hold back her laughter.
Lin Zhen couldn't understand these two strings of difficult and obscure pronunciations, not realizing they were syllables symbolizing status and authority, just thinking it was some rare language.
He wasn't a mage and knew nothing about it, but at least he knew many mages had to learn Elven, Ancient Human, Ancient Elven, and so on.
So, apart from the slightly weird atmosphere, everything seemed fine.
As for the atmosphere issue—
Lin Zhen filled in the blanks himself and felt he could completely understand. Besides, looking at his niece's expression, this kind of thing had surely happened many times.
"Chengcheng has had a stubborn temper since she was a child. Back then, she couldn't learn battle aura..."
Lin Zhen looked at the girl sitting diagonally across from him, feeling a bit emotional.
He directed these words to Kai, who listened attentively, though his hands didn't stop moving, neatly slicing off a piece of plump fish belly.
Then he placed it on a plate, pressing the fish with a fork in one hand while using the tip of the knife in the other to pick out the translucent, fine bones.
The aroma of the fish, mixed with the fragrance of dill and butter, drifted through the air.
"Hmm, that sounds like a different person."
After listening to Lin Zhen's trivial stories, Kai couldn't help but smile, placing the tender fish on her plate.
"...I only like the one I know."
He turned his head to meet her eyes.
"Thank you," Su Cheng couldn't help but pull up the corners of her mouth, "but I'm different. I think the past you was also very cute."
Ian cast her a meaningful, subtle glance.
Su Cheng rested her chin in one hand and met his gaze frankly. "What? I can say this to you too. I will always remember the half-elf who made bird eggs for me."
He seemed to be left speechless by this.
Su Cheng immediately turned her head to look at a certain demi-god sitting further away. "You too, darling."
Lusha gave her a helpless, reproachful look. "Our past didn't seem to be that joyful."
Su Cheng coughed lightly, "It's fine, there are plenty of people who had it much worse."
Kai rubbed her hair to show he heard it and didn't intend to comment on this topic.
"...I'm just saying," Su Cheng suddenly spoke up, "Based on your race's age calculation, is Xiao Lan considered a minor?"
Besides Lin Zhen, who was confused, the other three men couldn't help but look at her with varying expressions.
Kai thought for a moment, "We don't actually have this concept in a strict sense, and different elemental powers have different effects. I suggest you ask him, if he's willing to—"
Su Cheng felt a drop of sweat form on her head. "No, no, he invited me to the sea at the end of the month. He wants to show me an underwater palace... By the way, you need to give me some background info. Is it his dad's, or his?"
"The one at the Athol Atoll?"
"No, near the ruins of the Thetia city-state, but not in the same location as where the dragon egg was placed before, a bit further north?"
"That should be his own, built for him by some ice dragons at the time—"
As Kai spoke, he held her hand, watching the Libra mark on it slightly flash. "What's wrong?"
"Oh, that's another story," Su Cheng said calmly. "I made a bet with Klaus. Long story short, I cheated, and considering I know how to reverse aether to counter the power of authority, he couldn't do anything to me. He lost, so later he has to wear the clothes I pick and dance for me. I won't say I've wanted to do this since the first time I saw him."
"..."
"Come on, he didn't ask for my thoughts when he forced those unfair trades on me at the beginning!"
"No," Kai patted her shoulder, "I was just thinking, I won't be an audience member then, unless you insist."
"This is voluntary participation, of course," Su Cheng silently looked at the person across the table. "Although I think the more the audience, the more fun it is."
"Oh," Ian looked at her thoughtfully, "Then can I ask, when you say wearing the clothes you pick, do you mean no clothes at all?"
"What are you talking about? It wouldn't have the same vibe with nothing at all."
"That makes sense."
Su Cheng turned her head.
Lusha met her gaze with a smile, "If you don't mind, I can help you figure out the outfit, or I can transform into him and try it on—"
"...Good idea."
